Music Lessons

The score for Class was written by Blair Mowat, a composer with a passionate and deeply analytical approach to the music of Doctor Who.

INTERVIEW BY EMILY COOK

Class composer Blair Mowat.

I’ve been an avid watcher of Doctor Who for a long time,” says Blair Mowat. “So when I met [Doctor Who composer] Murray Gold at a drinks event at the British Film Institute in 2013 I think I freaked him out by asking loads of really in-depth, esoteric questions about his music.

“But he must have thought, ‘This weird guy who knows loads about my music could be useful to have around.’ Seven months later, after having heard some of my music, he hired me to help out with some arranging; he was working on several shows at once and the pace at which composers are often asked to produce the music is blistering. One of those shows was Doctor Who, just as Peter Capaldi had taken over. I remember sitting there with an early cut of Deep Breath on my screen, Peter hanging upside down from a tree talking to a horse, and simultaneously seeing articles on my Facebook feed that were trying to guess what the Twelfth Doctor would be like. And I was thinking, ‘I know what he’s like, but I can’t tell anyone. This is so weird!’

About Doctor Who Magazine

On the 50th anniversary of The Power of the Daleks, Doctor Who looked back as well as forwards. While an animated reconstruction of the Second Doctor’s début was being prepared, work began on new episodes to be broadcast in 2017. Inside this issue, you’ll find exclusive interviews with some of the people behind the next series and the recent spin-off Class, the story
behind the acclaimed exhibition of Target Books artwork and a ringside seat at the Power of the Daleks launch event. This is the essential guide to the worlds of Doctor Who.